{"id":28916,"date":"2020-10-30T13:16:02","date_gmt":"2020-10-30T20:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=28916"},"modified":"2020-10-30T13:16:02","modified_gmt":"2020-10-30T20:16:02","slug":"study-sheds-new-light-on-domestic-violence-in-asian-immigrant-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=28916","title":{"rendered":"STUDY SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN ASIAN IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by\u00a0Mark Hedin<\/a><\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0Oct 30, 2020<\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0Immigrant Rights<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services<\/strong><\/p>\n

Domestic violence in the United States is pervasive but little understood, particularly in non-English speaking communities. In a groundbreaking new report, the Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council (A3PCON) studied domestic violence within five Los Angeles Asian immigrant communities, in five languages.<\/p>\n

Local residents of Chinese, Korean, North Indian Hindu, Cambodian and Pakistani Muslim descent met in 23 focus groups including more than 150 people to discuss their circumstances and family norms in Mandarin, Hindi, Khmer, Korean, Urdu and English.<\/p>\n

\u201cDomestic violence is a complex issue,\u201d A3PCON President Rachelle Arizmendi said at the late-October press conference introducing the report (https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/A3PCONreport<\/a>). \u201cWhat\u2019s important is that we see each intersection of domestic violence with cultural issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Problems of domestic violence can emanate from causes every bit as diverse as the immigrant family members studied. Some possible roots of domestic violence explored in A3PCON\u2019s report include evolving gender roles, changing perspectives on obligations to family members and the community, conflicting religious doctrines, different cultural standards and community norms and expectations between participants\u2019 countries of origin and the U.S.<\/p>\n

All of those things can become still more complicated when multiple generations are living together, but vary from one community to another and even within those communities themselves.<\/p>\n

And in 2020, presenters made clear, the COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened the difficulties that can erupt into domestic violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing the exacerbation of domestic violence in response to the COVID crisis,\u201d Arizmendi said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis research, a tool for ongoing support, outreach and intervention strategies, is so vital and couldn\u2019t come at a more important time,\u201d commented Shikha Bhatnagar, South Asian Network executive director. \u201cCOVID is stressing relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian Hui, of Special Service for Groups\u2019 Research & Evaluation, another of the eight organizations collaborating in producing the report, noted how closed schools and shuttered workplaces have pushed people together, allowing tensions to build up with fewer opportunities for relief. Conversely, he said, many members of the surveyed communities work in fields deemed \u201cessential\u201d and thus have had the burdens of staying safe amid a pandemic that as of late October killed nearly a quarter-million people nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the big findings of the study was a lack of awareness of what domestic violence looks like,\u201d Hui said. Cultural distinctions play a role in how all of these communities understand and deal with it.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s little agreement on \u201cwhat is considered appropriate conduct,\u201d Mariku Khan, of Pacific Asian Counseling Services, said.<\/p>\n

But common to all the cultures studied were issues of male dominance and stresses from changing gender roles, such as women increasingly adding income-earning to their list of responsibilities, without men typically taking on increased domestic ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cA common thread is power and control,\u201d said Debra Suh, executive director of the Center for the Pacific Asian Family (CPAF). \u201cIt doesn\u2019t happen all of a sudden. It becomes worse over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Common factors were religious and other cultural standards that value \u201csaving face,\u201d \u201chaving to bear a cross\u201d or suffering in silence can allow domestic violence to persist. And there are different opinions on corporal punishment, too.<\/p>\n

Nor are intervention strategies clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing to police is not something you would do,\u201d Khan said.<\/p>\n

She recommended author Rachel Louise Snyder\u2019s \u201cNo Visible Bruises\u201d that \u201cdelineates how law enforcement and society work together to make it difficult for women victims to report domestic violence.\u201d And Khan agreed with Hui\u2019s assessment that immigrant families\u2019 experiences with authorities in their home countries \u2014 \u201cnot necessarily a positive, public safety-oriented one\u201d \u2014 will color their willingness to seek help.<\/p>\n

Researchers were challenged to ensure participants\u2019 safety in discussing an often-taboo topic and noted that the intermingling of cultures and generations is complicated enough to preclude discussing issues of gender identity or homosexuality.<\/p>\n

In hopes of better times ahead, the report attempted to identify helpful strategies for addressing domestic violence. Despite the diversity of the communities in the study, researchers concluded that there are some strategies that are applicable to all, centered around changing norms within each. Among them: promoting more open discussion, implementing trainings and social groups to understand better parenting styles and working with community leaders to affirm new social and cultural norms.<\/p>\n

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, 3PCON Executive Director Manju Kulkarni noted, but, \u201cDomestic violence is something that happens every day, every month, throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although to some extent the report \u201cconfirmed what some of us already know,\u201d Bhathagar said, the findings of community norms shifting toward more gender equity provides hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all know that marriage is not easy and when you add immigration, it becomes even more stressful,\u201d Sheila Wu, of Asian Pacific Counseling and Treatment Centers, said. \u201cWe hope we can be here for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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